Am I Mental?

[guitarplayer]

I'm having a delema and I know it's purely a mental issue... :NUTS
I've been looking for a Fender Strat rosewood fretboard for that has that "majic" feel/tone (to me anyway) and really "speaks to me". You know what I mean - a guitar I just don't want to put down. I've a couple of guitar like that and they're "keepers" that I hope to never part with. I don't currently have a rosewood fingerboard strat so I'm looking for that kind of guitar that I can keep for a long time. I can picture the guitar - an aged Black or White Fender Relic with a nice feeling neck and great action and tone! But...

I recently came across a "strat-style" guitar made by another builder. I don't want to mention the name so that I don't bias any feedback but the builder has a great reputation is known for making "better" strats. This guitar plays itself! I've NEVER played a guitar that plays as well as this. The tone is bell-like and it sounds great acoustically too! The only problem which I'm not sure I can get by is that it doesn't have a Fender headstock and it's the last color I would choose for a strat! I know it sounds very superficial, and maybe it is, but I'm afraid that although it's the BEST playing guitar I've ever played and feels like I've had it for years, I don't want to feel "lacking" later and always wishing I had waited for that "dream" strat I have in my mind. Please tell me I'm stupid, or that I should just wait for THE guitar. I just don't have the money to buy several strats so whichever I buy I want to keep it and want to be happy with it. Thanks for the ear and advice! :)

[damo7v]

I dearly wanted a daphne blue '60 relic. My wife brought me home an ice blue metallic '60 relic instead. I didn't like the colour, but (as appears to be the case with yours) I loved the feel and sound of this guitar.

It's gotten to the point where I'm either over it not being my favourite colour or the colour has just grown on me. So from that perspective, I imagine you'll get over the colour/headstock.

Having said that, I WILL buy myself a daphne blue '60 relic one day. So maybe you could just look at this particular guitar as a stepping stone in your quest.

Afterall, this IS the gearpage, and it appears that to some degree at least we are all about climbing the ladder to the holy grail of equipment.

[chucke99]

I think that, unless the guitar is sparkle pink with a daisy-shaped headstock, you'd be crazy not to buy it.

[Irreverent]

It ain't about the looks. It's about how you and her work together to make music. Sounds to me like you have a winner! Sometimes our "dreams" don't turn out how we think they will in reality...

As for the headstock: who cares. If you are buying the guitar as an investment, it might matter in the future, but if you are buying to enjoy making music, the headstock doesn't mean squat. I have three guitars with Fender headstocks. One is the first guitar I ever bought, so I am keeping her. The other two I am only keeping because of their potential future value. I have other strat and tele style guitars that are far superior to any Fender guitar I have ever seen.

And you are clearly not stupid. Quite the contrary. You are approaching the decision in a thoughtful, critical, and constructive way.

Good luck!

[jota]

I don't like Suhr headstocks either or black guitars... ups!
Go for it and you'll love it in a moment. Just close your eyes and hear the sound. You'll forget the colour and the headstock shape in a hurry.

[Glowing Tubes]

Play a few by this builder, chances are you will find another great one in his lineup, or wait for a Fender that speaks to you. Dont rush your decision, there are a LOT of good strats out there (a lot of bad ones too)

[rydog2223]

I know that 85% of buying a guitar is how it plays and feels to you. The other 15% is the looks. I always look at Fender like geetars but call me shallow I just like seeing the Fender headtstock. It brings back memories of my childhood and my first "good" guitar and the warm and fuzzies:). Good luck!!!!

[joejoe]

Re: the headstock...
I'm sure a few of the first guys who picked up Fender Teles or Strats thought to themselves, "Plays great, sounds great, but it doesn't say Gibson/Gretsch/etc. on the headstock. It's not an archtop. It's not a set neck. It's not the same scale. It's got single coils. It's got all the damn tuners on the same side. It's solid/heavy/painted/no rosewood/etc, etc. " But look what happened.
Just 'cuz you like this guitar, it doesn't diminish your Fenders. But if it speaks to you, you'll forget it's not a Fender, and start to love whatever the hell it is.

THe color? Well, maybe they have a different one? Or you could refinish it? Or eventually you just won't care! If someone handed you your dream '63 strat, would you really care what color it was?

[MickeyJi]

Two weeks ago I bought a Fender Jeff Beck Signature Strat within 10 minutes on a whim because it felt so good in the store.

I seriously questioned myself and my sanity when I got home (I really, REALLY didn't need another guitar) - but since then I've come to realise that this is probably the best Strat I've ever had. It just seems to work perfectly for me.

Go with that gut feeling/first impression/the vibes, screw all preconceptions.

:dude

[dave s]

Indeed a strange 'dilemma' you are faced with.

Not sure if the two strats you currently own are of the CS variety, but my experience says that the CS strats are equally as good (possibly even better if you get a 'real deal' strat) as the name boutique builder guitars.

I've owned both and for some reason now own two Fender CS strats and have moved the other two that didn't say Fender on the headstock.

dave

[7String Thing]

Id try and find another one from that mystery builder with the options you like and play it. if that one speaks to you, buy it.

BTW my main axe is not my favorite color. But it sure plays like a banshee

[Drowned Rabbit]

Wait for the new WildWood 10's to show up.

[Bankston]

Aesthetic appeal is important to me. Sounds like you're prepared to make a significant investment. I say keep looking until you find exactly what you want.

Then again, I'm not one to think any particular guitar is "magical."

[Tone Disciple]

- all about climbing the ladder to the holy grail of equipment.

LOL!!!! :AOK

Can I use that in my signature?

[Brion]

If you can see the name on the headstock when you're playing it, you're playing it wrong...

[Vintage-tone]

I must be shallow and superficial but the looks is very important to me.
Yet again I m more of a poser than a real guitar player !
I would wait for the total package one, looks + sound and make a note of the features that you really like in this one such as neck shape, fret size, radius, woods and pups.
I ve had a few guitars like you re describing that were sounding and playing great but lackin the looks and always ended up selling them back or refinishing them myself.

[MartinC]

If it's a Suhr, then the consistency from guitar to guitar is extremely good. I'd order one with the same specs in the colour you want ... and live with the headstock (I don't mind it myself)

Oh, and no you are not mental. Why live with a colour you really don't like when you could get one in a colour you really do like. 'Specially if this is supposed to be one of those magic guitars and not just a good value workhorse that you don't mind abusing. I'd buy a great sounding, playing guitar in a colour that I didn't mind, but I wouldn't, in all honesty, buy a guitar in a colour I really didn't like ... not when there is a choice ... and you have a choice.

[Dave Wakely]

I'm with the aesthetic brigade on this one: if I hate the colour/pickguard/design/whatever, something about the relatiosnhip with the guitar isn't going to work for me, no matter how it plays, feels or sounds.

Given, however, that you're looking to consider buying boutique, why aren't you asking the mystery builder to make one to your specs (colour included), or am I missing something?

Dave

[guitarplayer]

I'm with the aesthetic brigade on this one: if I hate the colour/pickguard/design/whatever, something about the relatiosnhip with the guitar isn't going to work for me, no matter how it plays, feels or sounds.

Given, however, that you're looking to consider buying boutique, why aren't you asking the mystery builder to make one to your specs (colour included), or am I missing something?

Dave

Dave, Good question. I've played other guitars by the builder and although they all play great, this one is a stand out. I'm sure you know what I mean - an exceptional playing/sounding guitar that comes along once in a while which is the ONLY reason I'm considering it. The shop that is selling it sells many of these guitars every year and all of the guys agree it's in the top 3 best playing strats they've ever had which says a lot since they sell many. I don't totally hate the color or headstock - it's just not my "dream guitar" aesthetically. There have been some great advice here but unfortunately I'm still on the fence. I think it just comes down to whether I think I'll be truely happy with it in the long term. Someone on the post said that real life doesn't always happen the way we think it should in our minds. When I was 16 I thought I was going to marry Farrah Fawcett but the reality is I'm very happy with my wife and I think I'll keep her. ;) Like I said in my original post, I've gone through buying/selling many guitars but I know it's possible to find "the one". I have two guitars like that right now - a '56 Gibson 225T and an American Mapel fretboard strat. I'm just looking for my next keeper. My concern is this one might be it and I might let it get away - or - I'll end up just selling it and throwing money down the drain (again)!

[Flyin' Brian]

If you REALLY want to find a Strat style guitar that speaks to you, go to a well stocked store, tell them your price point, that you want a RW board and any colors that are deal breakers. Then have them blindfold you and start handing you guitars to try. You'll probably be amazed at what you pick.

[Dave Wakely]

Sound advice on any kind of buying really.

Last time I bought a Strat I tried 11 of them. The most expensive was the worst (a ltd run goldplate everywhere job with the all the ring and zing of someone thwacking wet cardboard with a hot dog). The best was a fair way up the price tree, but second best was one of the cheapest. Second best, unfortunately, was Candy Tangerine. By the time I factored in the cost of a respray :-)

Oddly, Teles strike me as much more consistent. Main difference I notice is feel of the neck, but mostly the sound doesn't vary too much (unless there are radically different pickups or bridges involved). Maybe Strats are just more sensitive to a wider range of factors in their construction? (Unfortunate given Leo's alleged 'if a bit falls off, buy a new one and slap it on' approach the guitar design.)

[morlll]

Buy it don't be silly. You aren't mental for finding the one you like.

Buy it, keep, it play it.

[guitarplayer]

If you REALLY want to find a Strat style guitar that speaks to you, go to a well stocked store, tell them your price point, that you want a RW board and any colors that are deal breakers. Then have them blindfold you and start handing you guitars to try. You'll probably be amazed at what you pick.

Good advice. Can you recommend a place that would have a large supply of good strats? Thanks!

[mad dog]

When a keeper comes along, whatever it is trumps whatever it isn't. Cosmetics can be changed. If the color really bothers you, you could have it refinished. I do understand the headstock appeal, but that's an abstraction ... while this guitar is talking to you in a very real way now.

Don't let a good one get away.